• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Development
  • Food+Drink
  • Things To Do
  • Doing Good
  • Lifestyle
  • Arts
  • History
  • Lists

Daily Detroit

What To Know And Where To Go In Southeast Michigan

Header Right

  • PODCAST
  • NEWSLETTER
  • SUPPORT
  • ARCHIVE
  • CONTACT
  • LISTEN ON:
  • APPLE PODCASTS
  • SPOTIFY
  • GOOGLE PODCASTS
  • STITCHER
  • Submit An Idea To Daily Detroit
  • Get Your Daily Detroit Newsletter
  • Listen To The Daily Detroit Podcast
  • Contact Us
  • LISTEN ON:
  • APPLE PODCASTS
  • SPOTIFY
  • GOOGLE PODCASTS
  • STITCHER
Rendering of Ally Detroit Center with new sign at the press event.

Ally Financial Switches Plans, Decides To Consolidate Downtown; Gilbert Buys One Detroit Center

You are here: Home / Business / Ally Financial Switches Plans, Decides To Consolidate Downtown; Gilbert Buys One Detroit Center

Mar 31, 2015 by Daily Detroit Staff

Real estate magnate and Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert expanded his portfolio to some 70 properties today with the purchase of 43 story, 957,000 square foot One Detroit Center. The purchase price was more than $100 million for Detroit’s third largest office building and the adjoining garage, however, an exact number wasn’t shared.

But that wasn’t all.

It had been talked about in the media that Ally Financial, formerly the credit arm of General Motors, was going to move to Southfield, but those plans are no more. New CEO Jeffrey Brown stood up today on stage along with Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert, Bedrock Real Estate CEO Jim Ketai and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan to say that not only were they not moving to the suburbs, but all of their 1,500 employees at Ally would be consolidated into One Detroit Center (which is now to be called Ally Detroit Center) come next spring.

Dan Gilbert at the announcement today
Dan Gilbert at the announcement today

“Ally was pen and paper close to signing and going out of the city. We put out an all-court press,” Dan Gilbert said. “We had the space. They had a need. I think deep down they wanted to stay.”


 For more on that all-court press, here’s the story as told by Mayor Mike Duggan.


It’s expected the buildout of the 13 floors Ally Financial will take up will cost about $55 million.

The deal ended up coming together in an interesting way. Mayor Duggan became aware of the media reports that Ally, after being based in the city for about a century as part of GM, would be moving to the suburbs. He asked for a two week window to make his case for the city, and even though CEOs changed in the middle of the process, between the Downtown Development Authority, Ketai and Gilbert the funding and arrangements were made not just for the building purchase but also for the purchase of the adjoining garage as also 1,500 parking spaces were needed.

“We need to get used to the idea of success in Detroit,” said Mayor Mike Duggan.

Signage rendering on the newly named Ally Detroit Center as viewed from Woodward.
Signage rendering on the newly named Ally Detroit Center as viewed from Woodward.

The lease is 12 years and 9 months long, and totals 321,000 square feet in the newly renamed building. Cost, however, wasn’t the driving factor. Downtown desirability was.

“It is more expensive for the company to stay in the downtown Detroit area, but when you consider all of the other qualitative factors, the access to talent, high speed fiber to be laid in the city, to be a part of that development, the benefits far outweigh the costs on the spreadsheet,” said the CEO of Ally Financial, Jeffrey Brown.

This appears to be a market rate purchase for Bedrock of an already viable building, which is a departure from the “skyscraper sale” days of the past.

Ally Financial was formerly GMAC (General Motors Assurance Corporation) and owns the profitable Ally Bank which was at one point majority owned by the Federal government as part of the massive auto bailout. In December the government sold their last remaining shares.

FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail

Filed Under: Business, Development Tagged With: Ally Detroit Center, Ally Financial, Bedrock Real Estate, Dan Gilbert, Detroit, Detroit real estate, Development, Downtown Detroit, Jeffrey Brown

Be In The Know In About 20 Minutes A Day

“Thanks for your excellent coverage! Daily Detroit is part of my morning routine and as a lifelong metro area resident I appreciate your focus.”

– Jessica

Be like Jessica and keep up on the news, stories, and people that are pushing the Motor City forward on the Daily Detroit podcast. Free in your podcast app of choice:

Apple logoGoogle logoSpotify logoAmazon logoPocketcasts logoStitcher logoOvercast logoIheartradio logoRss logo
Previous Post: « Detroit’s Own PixelPrint Makes Social Media More Tangible And Fun
Next Post: Rock City Eatery Rocks Out The Flavors »

Primary Sidebar

Support the businesses & orgs that keep us on the air!

Fusion Marketing

Media funded by listeners serves our listeners. Become a member, get swag!

Support this podcast

PODCAST: U of M’s COVID-19 Problems; Campbell In As Lions Coach, Stafford Out As QB w/ Fletcher Sharpe

PODCAST: First Look At Coffee Down Under; Detroit Property Values Up; 5 Things To Know In Metro Detroit

PODCAST: Kwame Kilpatrick Will Walk Free; Metro Detroit Road Project Update

PODCAST: 6 Things To Know Around Detroit Plus Sports w/ Fletcher Sharpe

PODCAST: The End Of Auto Shows As We Knew Them Plus NACTOY Winners w/ Eric Trytko

PODCAST: 7 Things To Know Around Metro Detroit

PODCAST: WTF Happened in Washington w/ Steve Friess

PODCAST: 7 Things To Know Around Metro Detroit

PODCAST: College players can get paid in Michigan; Free beer for Lions fans and more w/ Fletcher Sharpe

PODCAST: The Real Story of Detroit’s “Fist” – The Monument to Joe Louis

Get our newsletter covering what to know & where to go in Metro Detroit in your inbox!


Footer

Popular Topics

Belle Isle Brush Park Business Cars CBD City 5 City Of Detroit Corktown Crowdfunding Culture Development Doing Good Eastern Market East Riverfront Education Events Featured Ferndale Food + Drink Fun Green Hamtramck History Lifestyle Lists Macomb County Midtown New Center News Newsflash Oakland County Opinion Podcasts Policy Royal Oak Shopping Southwest Detroit Sports Staff Picks Tech Things To Do Transit University District Video Wayne County

On Social Media

Visit Us On TwitterVisit Us On InstagramVisit Us On FacebookVisit Us On LinkedinCheck Our FeedVisit Us On Youtube
  • Submit An Idea To Daily Detroit
  • Get Your Daily Detroit Newsletter
  • Listen To The Daily Detroit Podcast
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2021 · Daily Detroit · 1420 Washington Blvd, Suite 301 · Detroit, MI 48226

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!